Google Maps gets new updates to give users more control over their information

Google Maps announced today that it’s introducing a few new ways to give users more control over their personal information. The navigation app is making it possible to delete activity related to specific places and making it easier to access location controls right from the blue dot in the app.

The company says users will soon be able to see their recent activity related to specific places to easily delete their searches, directions, visits and shares with a few taps. Say you’re going to a bakery and use the app to navigate there. Soon, you will be able to view your recent activity associated with the bakery in order to delete it all.

As for the blue dot that shows you where you are on Google Maps, you will soon be able to use that to access location controls. Once you click on it, you will be able to see whether your Location History or Timeline, a feature in Maps that helps you remember places you’ve visited,  settings are turned on and if you have given Maps access to your device’s location.

The ability to delete place-related activity from Maps and the new blue dot controls will start rolling out on Android and iOS in the coming weeks, Google says.

Google Maps also announced that if you have chosen to turn Location History on, your Time will soon be saved right on your device.

Image Credits: Google

“Just like before, you can delete all or part of your information at any time or disable the setting entirely,” Marlo McGriff, Google Map’s director of Product, wrote in a blog post. “If you’re getting a new phone or are worried about losing your existing one, you can always choose to back up your data to the cloud so it doesn’t get lost. We’ll automatically encrypt your backed-up data so no one can read it, including Google.”

Plus, now when you first turn on Location History, the auto-delete control will be set to three months by default. This option was previously set to 18 months.

These changes will gradually roll out through the next year on Android and iOS, Google says. Users will receive a notification when this update comes to their account.